What is the history of wildfires in California?

Wildfires are not only natural but they help keep forests healthy and help renewed growth. However, wildfires, appear to have become more intense in recent history, particularly in places such as California, where the weather is often dry in many parts of the state. Looking at the history of wildfires, reasons as to why they have become more destructive become clear.

Early Record of California Wildfires

The archaeological and ecological record in California reveal a long history of wildfires in the state of California. In a study looking at pre-1800 wildfires, almost 1.8 million hectares were estimated to burn annually in California. This is about the level that has burned as of early October 2020. Scientists estimate that the summer and autumn seasons were often filled with smokey skies of burning forests.

One of the first major recorded wildfires occurred in 1889; sometimes called the Great Fire of 1889 or the Santiago Canyon Fire. The fire mainly occurred in what are today's Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. Until 2018, this may have been the largest single wildfire event in California's recorded history, with over 300,000 acres burned. It started in September 24 and continued to September 30th. The fire was preceded by a very dry season, with only 0.4 inches of rain during the rainy season and strong Santa Ana winds were recorded that year. Other fires occurred that year, including in San Diego, but were far larger. The 1871 Peshtigo fire, which occurred in Wisconsin, influenced policy regarding wildfires in the late 19th century. Fire suppression strategies already began to be evident in places such as Yosemiti, General Grant, and Sequoia national parks. The Peshtigo fire covered 1.2 million acres and became the most deadly wildfire in US history, with 1500-2500 people killed in relatively rural areas of northeast Wisconsin. The 1889 Santiago Canyon Fire also led to more intense fire suppression strategies to avoid loss of life and property. This meant that as soon as fires started, policy was to put out the fires as quickly as possible.

Twentieth Century Wildfires

In the early 20th century, recorded fires were relatively small in scale but became destructive as the infrastructure and towns in California became built-up. The Berkley Fire of 1923 and Griffith Park Fire in 1933 are two examples of fires that were only about 10s of acres, although in the case of the Griffith Park Fire about 29 people died. This period saw that policy around fire suppression became more established, with the US Forest Service stating that wildfires were to be put out by 10 AM after the day a fire began.